| 1 | My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done: | "If you're going to kill each other, then do it outside, I just finished cleaning the house." |
| 2 | My mother taught me religion: | "You better pray that will come out of the carpet." |
| 3 | My mother taught me time travel: | "If you don't stop that, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week." |
| 4 | My mother taught me argumentative logic: | "Because I said so, that's why!" |
| 5 | My mother taught me foresight: | "Make sure you wear clean underwear -- in case you're in an accident." |
| 6 | My mother taught me irony: | "Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about." |
| 7 | My mother taught me about osmosis: | "Shut your mouth and eat your supper." |
| 8 | My mother taught me about stamina: | "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone." |
| 9 | My mother taught me about weather: | "It looks like a tornado hit your room." |
| 10 | My mother taught me about hypocrisy: | "If I told you once, I told you a million times, don't exaggerate." |
| 11 | My mother taught me about the cycle of life: | "I brought you into this world and I can just as easily take you out." |
| 12 | My mother taught me behavior modification: | "Stop acting like your father." |
| 13 | My mother taught me envy: | "There are millions of less fortunate children in the world who don't have wonderful parents like you do." |
| 14 | My mother taught me about surrealism: | "If you fall down out of that tree house and kill yourself, don't come running and crying to me." |
| 15 | My mother taught me about delegating authority: | "Go ask your father." |
Nancy Trice, © 1996-2001